Ejection mitigation regulations typically require vehicles to pass a test comprising propelling an impactor from an interior of a vehicle towards the vehicle windows. To pass, an ejection mitigation safety system must prevent the impactor from moving past a specified distance beyond a vertical plane defined by the vehicle window. For fixed windows and smaller doors, inclusion of laminated glass in addition to the door structure often suffices to pass an ejection mitigation test.
However, for larger doors such as sliding vehicle doors, the door structure may lack the required structural stiffness and integrity to prevent the impactor from moving beyond the specified distance. Accordingly, there is a need for supplemental ejection mitigation measures to satisfy ejection mitigation requirements for such larger doors.
To satisfy this identified need in the art, the present disclosure relates to an auto-locking lever lock system disposed between the vehicle body and a sliding door window frame. This system provides an additional attachment point between the vehicle body and the sliding door window frame. Advantageously, the disclosed auto-locking lateral impact retention system holds the door to the vehicle body side under a normal load with respect to a plane defined by the door longitudinal and vertical axes. When subjected to a sufficient impactor impact, the auto-locking lateral impact retention system prevents the impactor from displacing the sliding door window frame beyond a specified distance from the vehicle body side.